Posts Tagged ‘retreat’

Devorah, WW-SAD executive director, walked the property with one of the members of the WW-SAD board, Sgt Daniel Carpenter, who was discharged honorably with a full array of combat injuries in 2009. Daniel was so excited to envision himself and his family enjoying the retreat center. He could easily look forward to the day when he and his kids will fish in the river, ride horses, attend different therapies, sit around the bonfire telling stories and kick back on the deck with some green smoothies. Yum.

We shared some bittersweet moments and we all laughed and cried together as he told us the stories of his time in service; some of his and his family’s sacrifices; and some of the traumatic ordeal of dealing with PTSD. We took video of these conversations so that you can join in and learn more about how this will impact our combat wounded and their families. Look for them on the website in the weeks to come.

Daniel will tell you that he is not one to seek the limelight and it was difficult for him to talk about his experiences on camera. Yet, he sacrificed his time and poured out his heart so that others could understand the immense need for the work that we are trying to do here at WW-SAD.

He even shared that he and a combat buddy had spent time in Iraq dreaming about a place “just like this.” …a place that they could be safe and share a sacred healing space while surrounded by others who share the common bond of combat. He wept as he shared that this friend had committed suicide because of the difficulty with coping with PTSD and other combat-related injuries. He wondered if the outcome would have been different if he could have come to the Wounded Warrior-SAD Health Retreat.

Daniel shared from his heart about how he understood what his friend was going through. He’d thought of suicide many times himself and has been able to overcome because of his counselling and other treatments. He also shared that there was hope. That he had hope to get better, maybe even be able to help others heal someday. He sees his work with Wounded Warrior-SAD Health Retreat and his chance to experience it with his own family as a part of the redemption that he needs to heal from and cope with his injuries.

He can’t wait to be one of the first families to attend the retreat center for adventures, fun, camraderie, wellness treatments and lots of smoothies! (YUM!)

Our goal is to offer fresh and delicious healthy foods that our wounded veterans and their families are sure to love!